Q. Can you tell us a little about yourself? How did you start learning traditional sculpture and shaped yourself as an artist?

I studied till class 8th from Govt. Middle School, LehDho, and pursued 6 years degree course in Ladakhi traditional sculpture from the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies, Leh Ladakh. During the course, we didn’t just learn about the art, the process, medium, etc, but the ability to communicate, to relate to the reality the understanding of culture, values of the work, sacred, and the work of human virtues. My family always encouraged me to become an artist because they believed in me and my skill. I would say my parent's support had a huge influence on me to learn and work as a professional artist. In 2014 I completed my course at CIBS and started working as a professional.

Q. Tell us about your first work and the statues you have worked upon.

In 2013, I made a small statue of 1st His Holiness Dalai Lama Gyalwa Gendun Drub at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Bylakuppe, Karnataka. The project was carried out during my training days. Later, with references to my work I carried out several projects including Gyaltsab je (one of the key disciples of Je Tsongkhapa) at Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Bylakuppe, Karnataka in 2015, sculpted 13 feet statue of thousand armed Arya Avalokisteshwara at Thukjey monastery in Tsokar, Changthang with one of my colleagues and worked for different monasteries like Sera monastery in Karnataka, Agling, Thiksey and Achinathang monastery in Ladakh. In 2019, I sculpted the statue of Guru Padmasambhava in Keylong, Himachal Pradesh, and also worked as a contemporary artist in Dharamsala. Along with the monastery, I also worked in shrine rooms of many families. 

Q. Can you tell us about the status of traditional art in Ladakh? Are youths in Ladakh interested in pursuing it?

Traditional art is a very important part of our culture and tradition. But with time we are witnessing various changes such as the material used in sculpting the statues changed from clay to cement, brass, bronze, etc. One can easily observe that a maximum of the ancient statues in monasteries of Ladakh are made of clay and is also believed that clay statues have more spiritual values. The value of clay idol is more as it consumes a lot of time and is the best material because it is eco-friendly. Today with time the demands and process of making statues are changing. There was a time when there was no proper institute to learn the arts but after CIBS the status of traditional art grew better. 

Interest and passion to learn traditional art are very important. There are certain specifications while making a statue which is very important to follow and for which learning with utmost sincerity and dedication is important. Also, many give up in between because they expect good money from a very difficult start. To get good work and more projects you have to be a good artist. 
Less support from the family, lack of confidence to continue it professionally, less patience, financial issue, etc are other issues

Q. What are the challenges faced by the artist of Ladakh?

We need to value the artwork as we give it to the government job. Hardly people in our society ever glorified the fact of being an artist; no one spoke about artists as being special or better. Very few encourage the child to pursue art or sports as a profession which is why the seriousness towards these fields is less. If we won’t make the importance of the art known there will be no interest in it. Secondly, the faith and importance of local artists are less. 

Despite having all the talent and skills, several big projects in Ladakh are offered to people from other states because in our society there is this narrative set that whatever is not local is best. Tendering process is also an issue because most of the big projects are funded by the government. The contractors try to complete the project with fewer expenses, thus, end up hiring less experienced people and average-looking projects. Once the project is finished you can’t do anything about it. People need to be more attentive and aware of what is being built around them and find the differences. There are many instances of statues and stupas in and around Leh which can be easily differentiated. Some very limited people restore and work on stupas and much of the work is carried out by daily wagers and labour from outside which spoils the very essence of the stupa. A good artist will charge more but will be delivering work with perfection.  

Q. How do you see the scope and potential of traditional sculpture? What needs to be done to promote it?

There are scope and very good potential if you have patience, work hard and get well trained. Traditional art got very good potential which needs to be promoted further because so far one can pursue traditional art professionally from the Central Institute of Buddhist Studies which is the only institute available and apart from that many learn from private teachers. The introduction of more institutes is needed so that aspirant artists can have an option to pursue the course professionally. 

The perception of learning art as a last option needs to change because artist plays an important role in society. Also, we need to give importance and value to the local artist so that we could encourage more and more best of the artist from our region and promote the Ladakhi style of art. It will be great if we could impart the importance of Ladakhi art and culture to everyone and most importantly if possible to the school-going children so that they can value and have in-depth knowledge of the ancient art and culture of Ladakh.

Q. What is your advice to the young aspirant artist?

There will be confusion and doubts while learning the art, many will not support or discourage you but the point is to go on and work with patience and dedication if you want to excel. Learning is a process, getting exposure and interacting with different artists will help. 
 
Message to the readers

"Have faith in yourself and what you do. Also, the elders need to believe in what the child is doing, encourage and support them because talent and skill are useless if we won’t nurture and polish them."